Get your social media noticed with hashtags

How to get more people to see your posts

By Anne Russ | Presbyterians Today

Posting your ministry happenings on social media is great, but it can be even better (translation: more folks seeing what you have posted) with the use of a hashtag.

Hashtags are those words and phrases with a # in front of them that you may have seen attached to Facebook or Twitter posts. Hashtags are the filing system of social media. They make your posts searchable beyond your church’s username. The right hashtags can put your posts in front of people you want to reach. 

If you don’t have a unique hashtag for your church, create one and encourage others to use it whenever they post about the church. Create hashtags for special events as well and use both the church and the event hashtag on posts about the event. Social media marketers advise using only two or three hashtags on Twitter and Facebook, but between six and 11 hashtags on Instagram garner the best engagement rates.

Also, consider adding day-of-the-week hashtags to your posts to reach outside your current audience. Here are some of the most popular day-of-the-week-related hashtags. Many of them work well with things you’re already posting: #mondaymotivation, #tuesdaytips, #wednesdaywisdom, #throwbackthursday, #feelgoodfriday, #saturday (yes, just the word “Saturday” itself is a popular hashtag) and #sundayworshipcelebration.

And, as in-person worship resumes, start using the hashtag #newnormal when posting about upcoming services.

Anne Russ is a Presbyterian pastor residing in New York City.

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